Mumbai Landfill Mystery: Waste Mountain Refuses to Shrink

Mumbai's battle with its legacy waste at the Mulund dumping ground continues nearly eight years after it ceased operations in October 2018. Spread over 24 hectares, the site, which began in 1968, once held an estimated 70 lakh metric tonnes of waste. A Rs 700 crore project, led by Bio Mining India Pvt Ltd, aims to reclaim land through biomining and bioremediation.

Initial remediation efforts, awarded in October 2018 with an original deadline of October 2024, have been hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent labor shortages. This led to penalties of nearly Rs 10 crore being imposed on the contractor. Logistical issues, including diesel supply constraints due to global conflicts, have further slowed progress.

Recent surveys, including drone and LiDAR technology, revealed an estimated additional 10 lakh metric tonnes of waste. This discovery has prompted the BMC to propose extending the project deadline to January 2027. The contractor has requested permission to use the contract's contingency clause to process the excess waste, a proposal that awaits approval.

Local representatives have voiced concerns over the repeated delays and miscalculations, calling for accountability. There is also a proposal to develop the remediated site into a public golf course. As of the current timeframe, approximately 62 lakh metric tonnes have been processed, with challenges remaining in transporting and disposing of processed material and tackling newly identified waste.